Thousands face water woes but their plight unfit for political consumption
Makur village in Unnao has a notable connection with history. It was here that Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose established Forward Bloc on May 3, 1939. Owing to scarcity of foodgrain, every house contributed 10 chapatis for those who participated in a conventi
UNNAO: Their throats parched at noon, Sweety, 12, and Babli, 9, walk down the road and approach a handpump only to find bad odour and sand in the water drawn from the ground.
Even though the water is unfit for consumption, thirst leaves the children with no choice. Sweety drinks water first and Babli follows. Then, they move on to their destination, another friend’s home.
These children live at Makur village in Unnao Lok Sabha constituency, otherwise known as the place where Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose established the Forward Bloc on May 3, 1939 and the birthplace of many freedom fighters who were with Netaji.
In 1939, due to scarcity of foodgrains, every house contributed 10 chapatis for the convention where the Forward Bloc was founded. All were asked to pay 15 anna (16 anna made a rupee). Today, there are enough chapatis in every home, but potable water is scarce.
“Clean drinking water is only heard about or seen when someone goes out of the village. What we drink here is water filled with fluoride gifting us weak bones and weak teeth,” says Ram Shankar Sharma, who devotes an hour daily to fetching clean water from a dhaba (eatery) outside the village on his bicycle. His concern hasn’t been addressed in any of the political campaigns in successive elections here.
Men limping after the age of 50 and youth with mottling teeth, despite not chewing paan masala, is a common sight in this village where women frequently complain of joint pain.
Makur is located in Hasanganj tehsil of Unnao. It is situated 18 km from the sub-district headquarters Hasanganj and 21 km from the Unnao district headquarters.
The village has a total geographical area of 841.11 hectare and a population of 4,306 -2,244 men and 2,062 women. The overall literacy rate is 59.06% — 68.89% for men and 48.35% for women.
“The water stinks and the food we cook is not eaten by guests from outside the village. In fact, relatives, after their first visit, never come to stay with us again,” says Rita, resident of Tikargarhi, 20 km south- west of Makur.
In about 100 villages, the water has high fluoride levels and indigenous solutions have helped only to an extent.
“The RO (reverse osmosis) plant installed in our village is defunct for months. We are left with individual RO sets, but they do not ensure enough water for all family members,” says Aman Yadav, 23, another resident of Tikargarhi village.
Kaisergarh, Durgaganj, Shivnagar,
Ram Shankar Sharma fetching water in a plastic container from outside the village
Garhi, Makwakhera, Mahesh Kheda, Garwa Kheda, Ahima Khera, Armamau, and many other villages have similar issues. About 70,000 people living in 100-odd villages are the worst sufferers in the district that has one bottling plant for packaged water and another for soft drinks.
“At least 90 truckloads of bottles leave the Unnao bottling plant every day to be supplied to the districts nearby,” says Umesh Rathore, who has been running a dhaba on the highway for 20 years.
Villagers are witness to political rallies during state and general elections but no solution to their problem. “Politicians come and we mention our water woes. They assure, leave and then come back the next election,” Sharma says.
“The nearby villages have a water pipeline. If the same is brought here, we will also have clean water to drink,” he says. The main hurdle is a railway line that needs to be crossed to bring the pipeline. The issue has been pending for years.
Dolly of Sirsakheda village says, “In some cases, people get their houses built outside the village to avoid the water crisis.”
Hansraj of Sirsakheda got his house built on the outskirts of Lucknow district for his son’s wedding as parents of the bride were aware of the water crisis at his native village and were apprehensive of marrying off their daughter there.
“If parents come to know about fluoride water, they do not marry their daughter off in these villages,” says Anshul Gupta, 22, a sweet shop owner in Makur village.
Experts say the issue is geogenic as the quality of fthe aquifer is different every 20 metres. The strength of minerals varies at places and so the solution is different for different villages.
“Small handpumps need to be used for taking out drinking water after getting them installed on the basis of land study to find appropriate depth for clean water,” says Prof Abhishek Saxena, an environmentalist and dean faculty of civil engineering at Shri Ramswaroop Memorial University.
Saxena, who did PhD on the water issue in Unnao and has got a patent on a defluorination tool that he developed, says, “Unnao has several low-lying pockets and they need to be used for artificial and rainwater harvesting but only on a scientific basis.”
Dr Vimal Kumar Arya, working at the Asoha community health centre (CHC) since 2019, says, “One out of every five elderly (50-plus) coming to OPD has a problem walking with joint pain. You can commonly see youngsters with fluorosis and all this because of highlevel of fluoride in water.”
Cases of osteomalecia are not common, but are reported sometimes among the young in these villages. Osteomalacia, often referred to as “soft bone disease,” is a metabolic bone disorder.
The CHC staff is compelled to purchase water for drinking and making tea or food as the groundwater is not even fit for rinsing one’s mouth.
“All the staff that stays here uses RO water obtained in jerrycans, even to brush teeth in the morning,” the doctor says. Even
the government offices in the area buy drinking water.
Even politicians are aware of the situation.
“I am aware of the fluorosis issue in the district. The work of supplying piped water is being done on a war footing. The target was to complete it by 2024 and major part of Unnao has been covered under the flagship scheme by central government’s Jal Jeevan Mission. The Har Ghar Nal Se Jal scheme will cover Unnao by the year-end and no one will have to drink dirty water,” says Sakshi Maharaj, the sitting MP and BJP candidate.
The BJP has won the Unnao Lok Sabha seat five times and the Congress eight times since 1952. The BSP bagged the seat twice.
In 2019, the constituency recorded 56.45% voter turnout against 55.53% in 2014. In 2014, 4,626 people and in 2019 as many as 11,190 voters pressed the NOTA button on the EVMs in the constituency.